Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto."

Chapter 1

"He's right in there."

"Thank you," Sakura said, grabbing the clipboard from the slot next to the door. She skimmed it quickly, then rolled her eyes before turning the knob and opening the door.

"Kaka-sensei!" she said, striding in without preamble. "My staff says you've been giving them a hard time."

"They tried (cough!) to take (cough!) my mask (cough!) off," Kakashi managed to say before going into a full on coughing fit.

"Only because they need to look down your throat to look at your tonsils and up your nose to look at your nasal passages," Sakura said unfazed. She had been around too many sick people in her career and was used to this sort of thing by now. "What is it with you and that mask anyway? I get that you don't want to be recognized in enemy bingo books. I get that you don't want to be mistaken for your father even if he has been gone for so long now that the likelihood of that even happening is slim to none. I get that you've just gotten used to wearing the thing and that you'd feel naked without it, but at the hospital where you yourself came in because you can't stand being sick anymore? C'mon, Kaka-sensei! Just take it off already! For all you know, it's the very thing that's incubating the germs around your face!"

"I'll have (cough!) you know (cough!) that I wear (cough!) a different one (cough!) every day (cough!) and (cough!) wash the (cough!) used ones (cough!) religiously (coughcoughcoughcoughcough!)"

"Really? You must have dozens of those masked shirts then!"

"Well (cough!) it's actually (cough!) more than (cough!) a dozen (coughcoughcough!)"

Sakura's eye's widened, then narrowed. "You know what? I don't even want to know. May you please just take off the mask you have on now?"

"Can't you (cough!) just heal me (cough!) with your (cough!) chakra? (coughcoughcough!)

"My chakra isn't going to kill a virus or a bacteria. It can only mend muscle and bone."

"You can (cough!) bring a (cough!) fish back (cough!) to life (coughcoughcough!)"

"Yes, I can bring a fish back from the dead, but it still doesn't mean I can cure the common cold! Now will you please just take off your mask so I can examine you better!"

"You know (cough!) I know (cough!) that you (cough!) Naruto (cough!) and Sasuke (cough!) have a (cough!) bet going (cough!) to see (cough!) who can (cough!) unmask (cough!) me first (coughcoughcough!)"

Sakura's face heated up in embarrassment and then just as quickly her temper flared up again. "It's not even about that!" (Although it would be nice to be the one to finally win that bet, thought Inner Sakura.) "YOU came HERE asking for help and now you won't even let us do what needs to be done to give you the help you need! I mean, just look at you!"

For a second, Kakashi's demeanor seemed to quaver and Inner Sakura was crouching down getting ready to jump up and pump her fists in victory, but alas…

"Sorry, Sakura," Kakashi said, shaking his head and coughing. "Nothing (cough!) personal (cough!) Do what (cough!) you need (cough!) but please (cough!) respect (cough!) my request (cough!) to keep (cough!) my mask (cough!) on (coughcoughcough!)"

Sakura deflated and said in a much calmer tone, "As you wish, Kaka-sensei. I see that the medics have already taken your weight, blood pressure, and used the ear thermometer to take your temperature, so will you at least allow me to check your tonsils by putting some pressure on the sides of your neck?"

Kakashi nodded, coughing.

"Thank you," Sakura said, moving closer to him and placing a hand on either side of his neck to check. She had the urge to just yank his mask down once and for all, but chose to stay professional instead.

"Well, your tonsils are definitely swollen and that cough sounds awful. May you take your flak jacket off so I can listen to your breathing better with my stethoscope?"

Kakashi willingly obliged, but Sakura had a difficult time just keeping the stethoscope on his chest and back, he was coughing so much.

"How did you even get this sick?" she asked, hanging the stethoscope back around her neck. "I thought that mask of yours is what's always kept you so healthy."

"I think (cough!) it's because (cough!) I've been (cough!) rubbing (cough!) my eye," Kakashi said weakly, his eyes watering with the effort.

"Is it bothering you?" Sakura asked, moving in again to take a closer look at his scarred left eye.

"No (cough!) not really (cough!) I just (cough!) sometimes (cough!) feel like (cough!) I still have (cough!) the Sharingan (coughcoughcough!)"

Sakura smiled sadly at him. "You mean like a phantom limb?"

Kakashi simply nodded his head and kept coughing. Sakura observed that although his mask was wet from all the coughing, at least it wasn't wet with blood, which was a good sign. It wasn't pneumonia, at least not yet.

"Okay, so here's what I'm going to do for you. I'm going to prescribe you with antibiotics, cough syrup, and an inhaler to help relieve that cough. I can't really do much about the phantom eye. If it hurts, take an aspirin, but don't over do it. If you feel the urge to rub at it, use a handkerchief or something else just so you're not touching it directly and risk infecting yourself again with whatever you have now."

"Thank you, Sakura," Kakashi said coughing, gratefully taking her signed prescription slip.

"You're welcome, Kaka-sensei. When you're done with the antibiotics, I want you to come back here again so I can make sure you're getting better, you hear me?"

Kakashi nodded, coughing at the same time.

Sakura smiled and waved goodbye to him before turning to the sink in the room and lavishing her hands and arms up to the elbows with soap and hot water. Sure he had a mask on, but considering how soaked it was with all that coughing, it was probably permeable at this point. All she knew was that if he wasn't any better by next week, she'd use the Strength of a Hundred Seal to strap him down to a bed herself and rip that irritating mask off!

To be continued…